Dispensing mechanism



June 9, 1931. A. H. DU GRENIER DISPENSING MACHINE Filed March 18, 19301'72 venior',

Patented June 9, 1931 UNITED STATES A'TN'D OFFICE ARTHUR H. DU enemies,or I-IAVERHILL, rvrassacnusn'rrs DISPENSING MECHANISM Application filedMarch 18, 1930. Serial No. 436,685.

This invention relates to dispensingmachines of the type disclosed in mypending application, Serial No. 377,946, filed July 13, 1929, in whichan endless carrier is provided,

which comprises a series of article holding receptacles, having theirtop ends open, and their bottoms pivotally connected and forming anendless chain, which is passed about two wheels arranged one directlyover the other. With this arrangement, a curved door is provided whichnormally supports the packages in the receptacles when they are in thepartially, or wholly inverted positions in which they are held as theyare carried be- 1 neath the, lower wheel, during the greater portion ofwhich movement the packages would fall by gravity from the receptaclesif they were not otherwise supported.

In the construction shown in said application the edges of the sidewalls of the receptacles pass closeto a curved supporting door and anadjacent bottom section, the closeness with which they must pass theretobeing somewhat dependent on the character of the packages which aredispensed.

In dispensing candy bars, and other arti cles which are usually wrappedsomewhat loosely in water proof paper, tin foil and similar material,from a machine of the type above referred to, which permits the endlesscarrier to be advanced until a package, which has been selected, is inposition for delivery, many of the articles are liable to be carrieddown beneath the lower wheel and pushed along on the supporting meansabove referred to an indefinite, number of times, and are, inconsequence, liable to become partly unwrapped, with the result that theloosened wrapper is liable to become caught between the edges of thereceptacle in which it is held and the supporting means, with the resultthat the machine becomes clogged, so that either the endless carriercannot be driven, or the wrapper becomes pulled off, or both re- I sultsoccur, either of which are highly objectionable.

The object of the present invention is to provide a construction whichmaybe incorporated in a machine organized substantially as disclosed insaid prior application and which will effectively prevent the wrappersof the packages from becoming caught between the edges of thereceptacles and the door, or bottom which support the packages when thereceptacles are partially or wholly inverted, so that the difiicultiesabove referred to may be avoided.

I accomplish this object primarily, by so forming the sides of thereceptacles relatively to the package supporting means that they willoverlap as the sides are moved relatively to the supporting means.

For a morecomplete disclosure of the invention, reference is made to thefollowing specification in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a portion of the dispensing meansand of the operating and controlling means therefor.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the lowerportion of the dispensing means.

Fig. 8 is a detail bottom plan view of the article supporting means.

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional .view at line w-aa of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view'of one of the carrier receptacles.

Fig. 6 is a similar view of the delivery door.

As shown in the drawings, the general construction and arrangement ofthe parts is identical with that disclosed in said application, exceptin the particulars hereinafter referred to, and comprises an endlesscarrier which consists of a series of receptacles, havin g the bottomsthereof connected by pivots 2, so that each bottom forms the link of anendless chain, said pivots being arranged to engage in the notches of awheel'S, so that the endless chain or carrier thus formed may be driventhereby, another wheel, not shown, being provided directly over thewheel 3, so that the carrier portions extending therebetween will becarried vertically, as shown in Fig. 1. The carrier is driven in onedirection by the main operating lever 4:, which ,acts through a slider 5having a pawl 6 ar ranged to engage a wheel on the shaft on which thewheel 3 is mounted, the arrangement being such that, each time theoperating lever is depressed from its initial position, the wheel 3 willbe driven through 90 and a receptacle will be carried from a horizontalposition in front of said wheel to a vertical depending positiondirectly beneath it.

Each receptacle consists of a strip of sheet metal bent to form twoparallel walls, which form supporting shelves when in horizontalposition, and a connecting bottom, so that the receptacle is open at itsouter, or opposite end from the bottom, to permit the article therein topass freely therefrom. To prevent the articles which may be placed inthe receptacles from falling or sliding therefrom, a curved door 8 isprovided, which is pivotally supported by trunnions 9 at one end and isadapted to be locked in a positlon in which its top surface isconcentric with the ath of movement of the edges of the sides of t ereceptacles, as they are carried about the wheel 3, and a fixed bottomplate 10 is also provided, the top surface of which 1s continuous withthe top surface of the door, so that the door and bottom section form acontinuous support beneath the path of movement of the receptacle, asthey are carried beneath the wheel 3. An arm 11 is provided on the door8, which is engaged by a locking pawl 12, to support the door in closedposition, as shown in Fig. 1, the pawl being movable to permit the doorto swing downward to the dotted line position of Fig. 2, and permit thepackage, as P, to be discharged from a receptacle, which is held in thedepending position of Fig. 2. As thus far described, the construction isthe same as in my said prior application.

According to the present invention, the top or concave side of the dooris provided with a series of parallel ribs 14 which extend throughoutthe length of the door, said ribs being equi-distantly spaced to formintermediate grooves of corresponding width. The bottom plate 10 issimilarly provided I. with ribs 15, which are arranged to extendcontinuously with ribs 14, when the door is in closed position, theintermediate grooves also being continuous with the grooves of the door.

The edge portions of the sides of each receptacle are notched to provideprojection fingers, or lugs 16, which correspond in width and location.to the grooves between the ribs 14 and 15, and are so arranged that, aseach receptacle is moved about the wheel 3, the

lugs 16 thereof will pass between the ribs 14, 15, with their ends andsides in close prox imity to, but out of contact with the bottoms andsides of the grooves between said ribs, while the bottoms of the notchesbetween said lugs will pass within similar proximity to the top surfacesof said ribs. The door 8 is also provided with a series of fingers 18 atthe end edge thereof which is normally held in proximity to the bottomplate 1O one of said fingers being arranged to project from the middleof the end of each rib 14 thereof, and the top surface of each fingerbeing continuous with the top surface of the corresponding rib. Thewidth of each finger is somewhat less than the width of the rib 14 fromwhich it extends, and the adjacent edge portion of the plate 10 isprovided with corresponding notches 20 in the middle of the ribs 15,into which said fingers extend when the door is in closed position, asshown in Figs. 1 to 3, so that, when in this position, a portion of thetop surface of each finger 18 will be opposite a portion of the topsurface of the corresponding rib 15. Also, in the closed position of thedoor, the end portions of the fingers 18 preferably extend slightlyabove the level of the portions of the plate 10 with which they arelapped, so that the top surface of the end portions of the fingers 18wiil be held slightly above the level of the adjacent top surfaces ofthe ribs 15.

lVith the above described construction, when a receptacle containing apackage, as P, is carried down beneath the wheel 3, the package willslide downward therein until it rests on the ribs 14, while the lugs 16will extend beneath the package, or beyond it, so that if the wrapperbecomes loosened, or the package becomes partly unwrapped, so that oneedge portion of the wrapper would tend to pass between the edges of thesides of the receptacle and the top surface of the door, or of the fixedbottom, it will be held up by the ribs 14, 15 and will be engaged by thelugs 16 on the rear sides of the receptacle and pushed along thereby,thus preventing it from becoming caught or j ambed between the edges ofthe sides and the top surface of the door or bottom. Also, if it werenot for the provision of the fingers 18, which project into thecorresponding notches in plate 10, the lower side edge of the package,which is frequently quite thin, would be likely to be caught in the openspace, or crack, which is i'iecessarily formed between the adjacentedges of the door and bottom plate, but, with the above describedarrangement, the fingers 18 support the package until it has beencarried over the adjacent portions of the ribs 15, so that, when thepackage is pushed from the fingers 18, it will be received by the ribs15, thereby preventing undue wear on, or cutting or tearing of thewrapper, and also preventing the edge portion of the pack age frompassing into the space between the door and plate.

All possibility of clogging of the carrier is thus prevented, anytendency for the wrapper to become caught between the tops of the ribsand the bottoms of the notches in the sides being prevented by theintermediate lugs 16 which push the wrapper along with the contentsthereof, and transfer of the package from the door to the bottom plateLid being effected without liability of damage to the Wrapper or of thepackage being caught in the space therebetween.

It may be noted that while it is considered preferable to provide bothfront and rear sides of each receptacle with lugs or fingers whichproject into the grooves of the article supporting means located beneaththe lower wheel the construction will operate satisfactorily if the rearside Wall only of each receptacle is provided therewith. The particularform of supporting ribs shown, while not essential, is the mostdesirable of which I am aware.

I claim:

1. In a dispensing machine, an endless carrier arranged to be movedcircularly in a vertical plane and having a series of article receivingreceptacles each comprising a bottom and front and rear sides, andopening at its outer end to permit the discharge of the articletherefrom, and a support located beneath the carrier having its uppersurface disposed in proximity to the path of movement of the outer endedges of said sides, said support and said sides having oppositelyprojecting portions arranged to extend in overlapping relation, theprojections on the support being adapted and arranged to support thearticle above the ends of the projections on the sides during theportion of the movement of each receptacle in which the article tends tobe discharged therefrom.

2. In a dispensing machine, an endless carrier arranged to be movedcircularly in a vertical plane and having a series of article receivingreceptacles, each comprising a bottom and front and rear sides, andopening at its outer end to permit the discharge of the articletherefrom, and a support located beneath the carrier and having itsupper side disposed in proximity to, and concentrically with the path ofmovement of the outer end edges of said sides, said support having aseries of ribs projecting from its upper side and extending in thedirection of said path and having grooves intermediate said ribs and therear side of each receptacle having corresponding projections andnotches respectively adapted to extend into said grooves and to receivesaid ribs as the receptacle passes to and from discharging position.

3. In a dispensing machine, an endless carrier arranged to be movedcircularly in a vertical plane and having a series of article receivingreceptacles each comprising a bottom and front and rear sides, andopening at its I outer end to permit the discharge of the arti cletherefrom, and a support located beneath the carrier having its uppersurface disposed in proximity to the path of movement of the outer endedges of said sides and comprising a movable section and a fixedsection, said movable section being arranged for movement to permitdelivery of an article discharged from a receptacle, and fingersprojecting from one of said sections and having their upper sidescontinuous with the upper surface of the section, the other sectionhaving corresponding recesses arranged to receive said fingers andhaving its upper surface at the sides of said recesses at the level ofthe top sides of said fingers, when the movable section is in normalposition, to support the articles continuously as they are propelled bythe sides of the receptacles from one section to the other.

4;. In a dispensing machine, an endless carrier arranged to be movedcircularly in a vertical plane and having a series of article receivingreceptacles each comprising a bottom and front and rear sides, andopening at its outer end to permit the discharge of the articletherefrom, and a support located beneath the carrier having its uppersurface disposed in proximity to the path of movement of the outer endedges of said sides and comprising a movable section and a fixedsection, said movable section being arranged for movement to permitdelivery of an article discharged from a receptacle and having aplurality of fingers projecting therefrom and normally held in lappedrelation with the adjacent portion of said fixed section in position tosupport the articles until they are delivered to the fixed section.

5. In a dispensing machine, an endless carrier arranged to be movedcircularly in a vertical plane and having a series of article receivingreceptacles, each comprising a bottom and front and rear sides, andopening at its outer end to permit the discharge of the articletherefrom, and a support located beneath the carrier and having itsupper side disposed in proximity to, and concentrically with the path ofmovement of the outer end edges of said sides, said support comprising afixed and a. movable section each having. a series of ribs on the uppersides thereof arranged continuously one with the other when said movablesection is in normal position and extending in parallelism with the pathof movement of said sides, said movable section having a plurality offingers and said fixed ARTHUR H. DU GRENIER.

